BRAND PROFILE
DESIGNING A COLLECTION
Saumya starts designing a phulkari collection
several months in advance. Over the past two
years, she has collaborated with weavers of
Chanderi, Maheshwari, mulberry, and tussar silks,
and khadi and linen. These weaves can be plain
as well as with borders. (Some may also be done
in metal yarn as it adds richness to the piece.)
After the fabrics have been woven, Saumya
works on the phulkari motifs and the colours they
are to be stitched in. Traditional motifs like the
amrit (a flower to which she has added a stem),
kite, half-fan, triangles, and sindhu (a star-like
motif) are most commonly embroidered. Saumya
gives the artisans a detailed description of the
motifs, specifying their size, placement, number
of repeats, colours they are to be rendered in, and
the direction, which is important for the pallus of
saris. The design is drawn on an A3 or A4 sheet
of paper for ease of understanding. At times,
newspaper cut-outs of motifs are also pinned
on the fabric.
Sutra’s textiles and apparel pieces are
embroidered by a woman each, making them
distinctive and one-of-a-kind. It could take a
woman up to 25 days to embroider a dupatta and
45 days or more to embroider a sari, depending
on the intricacy and number of motifs. They are
paid according to the nature and difficulty of the
work, which is directly proportional to the number
of motifs and colours used to weave the fabric.
Saumya believes that fair wages are fundamental
to the survival of a craft.
Recalling the words of one of her professors,
Saumya says, “An invention is an innovation
only when it is commercially viable.” Hence, she
SAUMYA BELIEVES
THAT FAIR WAGES ARE
FUNDAMENTAL TO THE
SURVIVAL OF A CRAFT.
makes sure that the design is such that there
is ample embroidery on it and yet it is cost-
effective. Saumya retails her products at the
Sutra Crafts studio in Hauz Khas Village (by prior
appointment), New Delhi, the Sutra Crafts store
in Rohtak, and at independent shows in different
cities. She soon plans to open a store in Goa.
More importantly, Saumya hopes that
awareness and demand for phulkari apparel will
rise as this will help in increasing the working
turnover of embroiderers, hence bringing more
artisans into the fold.